Dan Patrick’s untruths about vouchers
Sometimes, I don’t think Dan Patrick would recognize the truth if it reached out and bopped him on the nose. I know that’s a cliché, but it almost has a ring of justice for someone who prefers ideological prattle.
In a new political email and video touting Senate Bill 3, the private school voucher bill, the lieutenant governor says, “It will give school choice to every family in Texas.”
Actually, it won’t, far from it. The bill would provide private school vouchers to only a few thousand Texas families, while taking tax dollars from the under-funded public schools that the vast majority of Texas’ 5.3 million school children will continue to attend.
Elsewhere in the message, Patrick says, “I believe every child in Texas should have access to a high-quality public education.” Really?
If so, Dan, then why are you trying to take money from public schools to benefit a handful of private schools, and why did you, as a state senator a few years ago, vote to slash $5.4 billion from the public education budget? Why are you now supporting a Senate budget proposal that would continue to shortchange public schools?
Finally, Patrick promoted vouchers for people who “believe you have the right as a parent to provide the best educational environment for your child.”
There is a better idea. If you, as a parent, really want “to provide the best educational environment for your child,” you can tell your legislators to vote against Patrick’s voucher bill and then vote for someone else for lieutenant governor the next time you get the chance.
